Beautiful Healer
by Kohaku Frost
Summary: A retelling of Aeris and Vincent's forbidden, secret love, and what he did when she died...


Beautiful Healer  
  
Part One - Tiny Seedling  
  
My disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy characters, I did  
not create any of the Final Fantasy locales, and I might not have a  
pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of soon, so I ask that no  
one sue me or try to shut me up.  
  
Kohaku Frost  
  
Hello! My latest FF7 fic is what you are preparing to read. It  
is an Aeris/ Vincent pairing, but it will be relatively long. I hope.  
  
It's taken much too long  
To get it right  
Would it be so wrong  
To maybe find someone  
A miracle  
  
And all you really need  
Is everything you could never be  
And so you'd give it all  
For a miracle  
  
Is there a trace  
Inside her face  
Of a lonely miracle  
And so you wait  
And lie awake  
For a lonely miracle  
  
You never really know  
What it is  
Not until it goes  
And if it comes again  
It's a miracle  
  
But what you miss is love  
In everything below and up above  
And could she bring it all  
A miracle  
  
Is there a trace  
Inside her face  
Of a lonely miracle  
And so you wait  
And lie awake  
For a lonely miracle  
  
All you wanted was a (miracle)  
All you needed was a miracle  
A miracle  
All you wanted was a (miracle)  
All you needed was a miracle  
A miracle  
  
It's taken so long to get it right  
Could it be so wrong  
To maybe find someone  
A miracle  
  
Is there a trace  
Inside her face  
Of a lonely miracle  
And so you wait  
And lie awake  
For a lonely miracle  
  
"Miracle" Vertical Horizon  
  
The first sight that Vincent Valentine saw after waking from  
thirty years of sleep was the face of Aeris Gainsborough. In a single  
instant that seemed to stretch for an eternity, the red eyed man took  
in her brown hair, glittering green eyes and the concerned smile that  
twisted her lips beautifully. For the first time in thirty years,  
Vincent felt desire for a woman other than Lucrecia. It was a foreign  
feeling that immediately made him feel guilty for even considering  
another woman in such a way, when Lucrecia had suffered so much  
because of him.  
  
"Hello! I'm Aeris. What's your name?" Aeris was happy to  
introduce herself to the gorgeous creature that was sitting up in the  
icy coffin. Cloud was delightful, but he belonged with Tifa.  
Sephiroth had been kind to her and had loved her like the brother she  
had always wanted, but even he hadn't the slightest bit of the beauty  
of this black haired, red eyed angel. He possessed rather  
aristocratic features that suited him well; another feature that  
seemed to suit him well was the mournful sadness that looked as if to  
radiate from him. Aeris felt a disturbing desire to know what had  
caused such sadness, yet she knew it was none of her business. The  
man appeared somewhat suspicious of her cheery greeting, and it was  
then that she realized how strange he looked.  
  
"My name is Vincent. Vincent Valentine." Aeris repeated the  
name softly, surprised to find that it came almost too easily to her  
lips. Cloud had been standing near by; the spiky haired blond stepped  
forward to explain their quest, and Aeris felt the familiar pang when  
Cloud told of Sephy's crimes. The conversation gave the impression  
that Vincent had known Sephiroth's mother, a woman named Lucrecia. In  
a glimpse of Cetra insight, Aeris knew that this woman was the cause  
of Vincent's sadness. Vincent blamed himself for the woman's death,  
blame Aeris felt was misplaced. But it was none of her business, so  
she would not interfere.  
  
Vincent spent the majority of their hike to Mt. Nibel watching  
the last Cetra. He was nearly hypnotized by the gentle sway of her  
hips, and the way the wind pulled at her hair, always appearing to  
almost come loose, but when the gust had passed, her twist was still  
intact. Once, she had caught him looking at her. Vincent had felt  
his cheeks get hot, but she had merely smiled mysteriously and had  
gone back to undoing and redoing Yuffie's braid, much to the young  
ninja's irritation. Vincent thought that Yuffie secretly liked the  
attention, and he was remotely curious to the cause of Yuffie's  
childish actions. He was certain that it was just a cover for a  
childhood lacking in affection. The former Turk was even more curious  
about the way Aeris was aware of Yuffie's true feelings; he feared  
that the young woman might be aware of his inner self, a fear that  
greatly upset his usual calm.  
  
Vincent was so absorbed in observing Aeris that he was  
completely unaware of the coffee colored eyes that watched his every  
move. Tifa saw how the newest addition to the team followed Aeris  
with his eyes, and it bugged the hell out of her. Aeris already had  
Cloud eating out of her hand. Tifa was determined not to let Vincent  
fall under her spell, too. Cloud saw how Aeris seemed to brighten at  
the attention Vincent was paying her, and the ex-SOLDIER felt burning  
jealousy spread within him. The rather short man with the beautiful  
Mako blue eyes saw how Tifa watched Vincent, and instead of mere  
jealousy, and fiery rage consumed Cloud's heart. He began to hate  
Vincent Valentine.  
  
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"Aeris, duck!" Vincent dived and managed to push Aeris to the  
ground as the Materia Keeper's attack now whooshed harmlessly  
overhead. He had stayed close to her during the entire fight. He  
didn't dare use his Limit Break for fear of hurting her. Vincent  
fired his gun, blasting off the leg he had been firing at for the last  
five minutes. That made a total of four legs he had eliminated.  
Aeris stood and performed a powerful Ice 2 spell against the monster.  
It did a lot of damage, but not enough, and Vincent felt his heart  
leap into his throat as the beast charged toward her. Aeris seemed to  
freeze as the beast came at her, and Vincent shoved her out of the  
way. He felt himself transform into Galian Beast, and he attacked  
Materia Keeper again and again, careful to use only Berserk Dance.  
The boss was quickly defeated, and Vincent collapsed, human once more.  
  
"Vincent!" He heard Aeris say his name with alarm, but it was  
out of concern for him. He was aware of her presence when she ran to  
his side, cradling his head. "Wow, so that's your Limit Break." Her  
voice trailed off, and Vincent opened his eyes to see a suspicious  
moistness in her green gaze. He was puzzled, worrying that he somehow  
scared her with his transformation, when a watery smile lit up her  
face. "Oh Vince, I was so scared! I never freeze up like that! I  
thought that thing was gonna kill me for sure!" Relief washed over  
him, she had not been afraid of him, but the monster blocking their  
way. Suddenly aware of their position, Vincent sat up, and looked at  
Aeris curiously. She actually blushed, making her look even prettier.  
Vincent quickly ascertained that no one was watching them. Before he  
knew what he was doing, Vincent Adrian Valentine, former Turk, kissed  
Aeris Jane Gainsborough soundly on the lips.  
  
Shocked at what he had done, Vincent tried to pull away, only to  
find Aeris's arms wrapped around his neck, her soft lips pressed  
against his with newly discovered passion. The kiss was over before  
any of the other AVALANCHE members knew what had happened, but its  
memory lingered in the minds of the participants with warm welcome.  
  
They broke apart in an instant as Vincent heard Tifa's footsteps  
turn in their direction. They were partially hidden by the body of  
the monster, but if Vincent was going to kiss the lovely Cetra, it was  
not going to be with a jealous, vindictive martial artist watching.  
And it would be more than just kisses. This decision shocked him;  
since when had an admiration for a beautiful woman turned into a  
conscious decision to pursue? Pursuit was something Vincent had  
enjoyed immensely when he was younger. But it was something that  
Lucrecia had never approved of, even when he was chasing her skirt.  
  
Vincent and Aeris' eyes met across the space they'd put between  
them before Tifa had come into view. Vincent's eyes held a promise to  
continue later, and Aeris shivered a little at the feelings he had  
awakened. Damn, Elmira would be shocked shitless if she knew Aeris  
had kissed a man she'd barely known for an hour. Aeris herself was  
shocked. She'd never been kissed like that, not even by Zack, who had  
only used her.  
  
Aeris was helped up by Vincent as Tifa looked on with poorly  
hidden disgust. Cloud stared at Tifa and sighed dejectedly, that damn  
Turk had all the girls gawking at him. Hell even Yuffie had been  
looking at him with interest.  
  
"Okay, people. Next stop is Rocket Town. We might be able to  
get a plane or something there." Cloud stayed next to Aeris the whole  
trip, sometimes almost tripping her. Aeris smiled dismally. This  
trip was going to be boring if Cloud kept getting in her way.  
  
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* * *  
  
"Hell No!!!!! You're never gonna get my baby you punk!!!" Cid  
Highwind had long since turned various shades of red and finally  
purple. It appeared that he would never part with Tiny Bronco, even  
though a date with Tifa had been a temptation. Vincent was just about  
fed up with the man's shit. He hated swearing, and stubbornness  
and.pilots. It was just something to do with the fact that Lucrecia  
had had a thing for pilots. Uugghh!! Why did Lucrecia have to  
interfere in every part of his life, even thirty years after her  
death!? It wasn't fair to the people in his present life.  
  
"Mr. Highwind, I suggest that you turn over the goddamn airplane  
before I put a bullet in your skull." Vincent had his gun out and  
ready to make good on his threat. The perpetually drunk Mayor of  
Rocket Town went white to the lips, and he looked around desperately  
for aid. He got none.  
  
The AVALANCHE members supported Vincent completely. They were  
sick of the pilot's shit. He was being pointlessly stubborn and  
obstructing their journey. They had to catch Sephiroth, and Cid was  
causing unnecessary delays. Aeris watched the gun in Vincent's  
unmoving hand; he held it perfectly still, pressed significantly  
against the aging blond forehead. The pilot swallowed and the sweat  
ran in rivulets down his face. Cid was saved by the arrival of  
President Rufus.  
  
The pilot dashed out of the tiny house and Vincent fired a shot  
at his heels, making the crotchety 32 year old drop his ever present  
cigarette. His live-in, a woman named Shera, led the members of  
Avalanche out the back to the Tiny Bronco. It seemed that she wanted  
to get back at Cid for all the years of hell he had put her through,  
even though she was sorry for ruining his chance to go into space.  
Aeris saw the way Shera looked at Vincent, and felt a little thrill  
that the dark man was interested in her.  
  
"Shera, are you sure we can take Tiny Bronco?" Tifa was always  
polite to strangers. Shera smiled wickedly.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. If he doesn't have to deal with that plane  
he'll have to spend more time here with me." Aeris could relate, but  
Cid sure would get pissed. Then again.if Vincent wasn't worried, she  
wasn't worried. Vincent was always quiet, but no one ever really  
forgot his presence. He was always watching from the background, like  
a guardian angel, protecting the group from whatever threats they came  
across. He was a wondrous source of comfort for Aeris, who had never  
felt the reassuring gaze of someone wholly devoted to keeping her  
safe.  
  
Aeris had become so accustomed to the deep, rich sound of  
Vincent's voice that she missed it when they were apart. He walked  
beside her when they traveled, and he shared his expansive knowledge  
of life with her. He helped her train when they made camp for the  
night. He never seemed to tire of her company, and Aeris was relying  
on him more and more to keep her from the clutches of boredom.  
  
They walked toward the Tiny Bronco quickly.  
  
End Part One- Tiny Seedling  
  
R&R!!!!! 


End file.
